Enriching economics education though service-learning.

Abstract

Teacher-to-Teacher mini-grants were made available to College of Education faculty interested in implementing service-learning in their methods courses during the 2002-2003 school years. A grant proposal was written and accepted to support the service-learning project "Enriching University and Elementary Students' Experience in Economics Education." This article outlines the preparations involved in the development of a service-learning project between university students enrolled in an elementary Social Studies methods course, urban elementary students, their principal and instructional facilitator, and a Junior Achievement staff representative.

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University Vision for Service-Learning

When the opportunity arose to become involved in a university and college supported service-learning project, it was an opportunity that I did not let pass. The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) community is a diverse group of individuals who work together to accomplish a common vision and mission. One of the underlying principles of UNO is the belief that knowledge enriches the lives of all people. Therefore, UNO commits to helping their university students prepare for the challenges of living and learning in a knowledge-based, ever-changing world. Accordingly, the UNO campus focuses on three overarching goals considered necessary to achieve its vision. UNO places students at the center of the vision, focuses on academic excellence to heighten the intellectual environment for scholarship and learning, and strives to build bridges to its many communities. With the three goals established by the university, the framework of support for a service-learning project was intact.

The Service-Learning Academy at UNO

The UNO vision serves as an excellent framework for service-learning projects. Because UNO strives to build bridges to the community service-learning at UNO is highly valued, promoted, and supported. The Service-Learning Academy (SLA) was created in 1999 to promote and support service-learning efforts in the greater Omaha community. The SLA was funded by a grant from the Nebraska Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education. The objectives of the SLA are to (1) provide encouragement and assistance to faculty members interested in developing service-learning courses, (2) provide information about service-learning opportunities available to students, (3) provide a contact between the UNO campus and community-based organizations, and (4) cultivate continuing working relationships among faculty, students, and community organization. As an elementary Social Studies methods instructor in the college of education, I was provided with a wealth of resources through the SLA and developed the project "Enriching University and Elementary Students' Experience in Economics Education."

Financial Support for Service-Learning

In November of 2002, a representative from the SLA came to a Teacher Education Department faculty meeting to encourage methods course instructors to integrate service-learning into their courses. The representative asked interested instructors to apply for $750 Teacher-to-Teacher mini-grants. The mini-grants were offered to support the modeling of service-learning with teacher candidates who would then learn to implement service-learning in their future classrooms. The principles of service-learning, although briefly shared at the meeting, sparked my curiosity. Unsure of how service-learning would change, modify, or supplement my current methods course, 1 first reviewed the materials that the SLA provided. The SLA houses an extensive library of books, journals, research articles, as well as examples of service-learning projects conducted by UNO faculty members across campus. As I reviewed the resources, I readily recognized the difference between the practicum experience my students engaged in each semester in my Social Studies Methods course and the objectives of service-learning.

When I checked out several resources on service-learning from the SLA my interested grew. 1 began to figure out what service-learning was and what it was not. According to the National Commission on Service-Learning, service-learning (a) links to academic content and standards; (b) involves young people in helping to determine and meet real, defined community needs; (c) is reciprocal in nature, benefiting both the community and the service providers by combining a service experience with a learning experience; (d) can be used in any subject area so long as it is appropriate to learning goals; and (e) works at all ages, even among young children. On the other side, service learning is not (a) an episodic volunteer program; (b) an add-on to an existing school or college curriculum; (c) logging a set number of community service hours in order to graduate; (d) only for high school or college students; and (e) one-sided: benefiting only students or the community. I readily recognized the benefits of combining a service experience with a learning experience. With a firm understanding of the principles of service-learning, I took the necessary steps to modify the current course requirements.

Establishing Criteria for Academic Service-Learning

With the support of the SLA, the move from a community-based practicum project to one of academic service-learning was a transition that was not as difficult as I had anticipated. Once familiar with the objectives of service-learning, I was able to redesign the off-campus practicum experience. The redesign focused on establishing a community connection that would support a community need, a connection that would develop both university and elementary students' academic skills and one that would result in all stakeholders' feeling a sense of civic responsibility. I based the service-learning project objectives on the criteria established for an academic service-learning course. Shumer (1997) and The Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (2001) noted that three criteria must be present before a course can be considered an academic service-learning course. First and foremost, there must be service provided in the community that is relevant and meaningful to all stakeholders involved. Second, the course must enhance student academic learning in the course. Lastly, it must directly and intentionally prepare students for active civic participation in a diverse democratic society (p. 25). As I began redesigning my course to include service-learning, I purposefully worked to include all three criteria in order to qualify my course as an academic service-learning course.

Criteria 1: Efforts to Establish a Relevant and Meaningful Service with the Community

As I looked closely at my course content, service-learning in Social Studies education just made sense. Ellis (2002) defines Social Studies as, "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence...The primary purpose of Social Studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world" (p. 3). When one scrutinizes the purpose and knowledge base of Social Studies, one readily notes that service-learning would greatly enrich the university and elementary student's experiences in social studies. The integration of service-learning would provide an opportunity for my university students to engage in a direct life experience in what it means to be a citizen and participant.

To support university students in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for teaching Social Studies, I strive to provide them with an understanding of the knowledge base of Social Studies. Ellis (2002) stated that "... you don't just learn social studies as a school subject; you take part in it. In that sense, Social Studies demands knowledge lived, not just information studied" (p. 2). According to Ellis (2002) the knowledge and skills learned in elementary Social Studies should be put to direct and practical use in the form of classroom and school governance, of realizing one's potential, of growing awareness of others and concern for their welfare, and for free and full participation in the group. One of the goals for my Social Studies Methods course is to facilitate the teacher candidates' journey in making Social Studies rewarding, enjoyable, and worthwhile for their future students. Of all the Social Studies disciplines, the least understood area for my pre-service teachers is the area of economics. Therefore, when the oppurtunity to support university and elementary students' understanding of economics arose, I embraced the oppurtunity to collaboratively plan an academic service-learning project with the instructional facilitator at an elementary school and a Junior Achievement staff member.

Criteria 2: Enhancing Student Academic Learning

Deb Williams, the instructional facilitator at Grace Abbott Elementary, asked me what I knew about the program Junior Achievement. Having been involved in Junior Achievement (JA) as a resource special education teacher, I knew that the JA program was one that focused on the basic concepts of business and economics. Mrs. Williams informed me that Grace Abbott Elementary school would participate in the JA program during the spring semester of 2003. During our initial conversation, she was merely making an inquiry to see if I was interested in volunteering to teach one classroom the lessons prescribed by JA. I committed to work with a fifth grade classroom. This conversation led me to reevaluate what it is that I had heard at the faculty meeting about establishing service-learning into my methods course.

The Junior Achievement program in comprised of seven program themes: Ourselves, Our Families, Our Community, Our City, Our Region, Our Nation, and Our World. Junior Achievement's Elementary Program complements existing curriculum and demonstrates how economics impact people's lives as workers, consumers and citizens. The goal is for students to grasp and build on these concepts as they progress through school, ultimately enhancing their understanding of the world around them and how this awareness can positively affect their future (Junior Achievement, 2003). As I recognized how my university students could benefit from a project such as Junior Achievement, my excitement grew. The opportunity to provide a relevant and meaningful service with the community was being handed to me. I contacted Mrs. Williams again and asked if Grace Abbott Elementary School would be willing to participate in an academic service-learning project. I presented her with the idea of enhancing UNO and Grace Abbott students' academic experiences through my students' teaching the JA lessons. The Junior Achievement curriculum provided an opportunity for my students to become more knowledgeable about economics education, with the added dimension of then teaching the economics-based lessons.

The deeper I delved, the tighter the fit was becoming for developing a service-learning project immersed in reciprocity. I found that the JA lesson activities directly aligned and supported the social studies standards established by the Grace Abbott Elementary school district. This was a project that would provide a relevant and meaningful service to Grace Abbott Elementary students, as well as enhance both university and elementary students Social Studies experiences. My university students could engage in a project that placed them in their future role--a teacher. Mrs. Williams provided for me the contact person for Junior Achievement. We conversed and discussed the project idea. She, too, believed that this project was a good fit for service-learning. She would provide the materials, training, and support for the project. As I previewed the materials, I noted that this hands-on, activity-oriented program met the third criteria of academic service-learning. This Junior Achievement curriculum could provide an additional venue to prepare students for active civic participation in a diverse democratic society.

Criteria 3: Preparing Students for Active Civic Participation in a Diverse Democratic Society

The following service-learning project was implemented during the spring 2003 semester. To kick-start the project Roxanne Mulvey, the Nebraska Junior Achievement staff representative, visited our classroom on the UNO campus to distribute materials as well as orient the teacher candidates to the goals and mission of Junior Achievement. Following Roxanne's presentation, the UNO students were assigned to a five-member service-learning project team. Each team was given two 50 minute class periods to review the Junior Achievement materials. Each team was provided with a specific grade level briefcase that included a teaching manual, pre and post assessments, student handouts, and numerous supplementary materials. Each team assigned a team leader who was responsible for contacting the elementary teacher to whom they were assigned to coordinate and schedule the five consecutive dates to teach five 30-50 minute lessons.

The service-learning project occurred over five consecutive Monday mornings at Grace Abbott Elementary School. Forty-three students enrolled in two sections of Social Studies Methods engaged in the project. Section one was comprised of five teams of five university students. Three teams of five were assigned to teach in kindergarten classrooms and two teams of five were assigned to teach in second grade classrooms. Section two was comprised of eighteen university students who worked in teams of four and five. Two teams of four were assigned to a first and second grade classroom and two teams of five were assigned to a second and fifth grade classroom. The two teams with only four members were required to assign a team member to teach the fifth lesson.

Ongoing Reflective Activities Throughout the Project

As part of the project the university students were required to engage in reflective activities regarding the economics lessons they had. Over the course of the service-learning project the two sections of university students engaged in de-briefing activities and whole group discussions following each lesson taught in the elementary school. The class discussions were based on the following topics/prompts: (a) positive factors of the lesson, (b) lesson areas that could have been strengthened, (c) personal thoughts regarding the lesson, and (d) lessons learned. The team leader was required to keep a team portfolio that included individual team member reflections as well as a summative team reflection. After each lesson individual team members were required to write an individual reflection based on the following questions: (A) Do you believe the lesson objective was met? (B) What were the positive factors which occurred throughout the lesson? and, (C) What areas could have been strengthened in the lesson?

The following comments are a representation of two student reflections. Angle's comments are from her experience in a second grade classroom. She noted, "... I believe I accomplished my lesson objective. My lesson was straightforward and got right to the point by asking the students to identify jobs in the community and if they knew of anyone who had that job...overall the lesson was excellent and I wouldn't really have changed anything. However, when I was teaching the lesson to the elementary students I realized that I need to insert a lot more questions than what the lesson provided." Angie also noted areas in which she believed the lesson could have been strengthened. She wrote, "A challenge for me was time. I felt pressured for time even through we finished the lesson in thirty minutes...I would also like to see a better transition of my lesson into the next day's lesson." Dawna shared her second grade experience. She stated, "1 enjoyed teaching this Junior Achievement lesson [on communities]. The observations, planning and facilitation of the program are highly evident. The lesson suggestions in the kit provided the tools necessary to reach the lesson objective; that made it very easy to plan and carry out the lesson...Because the materials were provided in the kit; 1 did not have to worry about inconsistencies between classes and/or putting together supplementary materials for the lesson." Dawna noted an area that she believed could have been strengthened regarding the Junior Achievement curriculum materials. She wrote, "1 think some lessons (the community lessons, for example) could be more stimulating if we could have arranged field trips that correlated to the lessons (i.e., grocery store, farm)."

Following the completion of the project, the teams engaged in an in-class discussion regarding the successes and challenges of the project. Each team was then required to write a summative team reflection that evaluated the project in terms of overall value of the learning experience to them, as well as to hypothesize the value of the project to the elementary students. Stacey's comments are reflective of her team's perception of the project. She wrote, "We all have positive feelings from this project. The packets offered by Junior Achievement offered informative, age-appropriate, standards-based lessons that the students got really excited about. It was easy to keep the students motivated to learn using the materials provided." Upon the completion of the project each university student was asked to evaluate the project on a teacher-designed ten item Likert survey (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, and Disagree) that included items such as: (1) I was satisfied with the service-learning project at Grace Abbott Elementary. (2) I believe the students learned basics concepts related to economics education. (3) I would engage and promote service-learning in my future classroom. (4) The students at Grace Abbott Elementary were receptive to learning. The forty-three students enrolled in the two sections completed the survey. When the survey was reviewed, all respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the service-learning project was a worthwhile experience.

Conclusion

Through the collaborative efforts of participants from Grace Abbott Elementary, UNO, and Junior Achievement the university students and I believe we met the three criteria for an academic service-learning course. UNO and Grace Abbott students were engaged in lessons that were relevant and meaningful, as well as in support of existing social studies standards. Second, Junior Achievement lessons that were taught by the preservice teacher candidates both promoted and enhanced student academic learning. Finally, through engagement in this service-learning project both UNO and Grace Abbott Elementary students were involved in an activity that assisted in their preparation for active civic participation in a diverse democratic society.

References

Ellis, A. K. (2002). Teaching and learning elementary social studies. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Howard, J. (Ed.). (2001). Michigan journal of community service learning: Service learning course design handbook. Ann Arbor, MI: OCSL Press.

Junior Achievement Inc. (2003). Elementary school programs: Overview. In Junior Achievement [On-line]. Available:http://www.ja.org/program_elem_overview.shtml

Shumer, R. (1997). Teacher education and service-learning: A critical perspective. In J. A. Erickson & J. B. Anderson (Eds.), Learning with the community: Concepts and models for serive-learning in teacher education. AAHE's Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines (pp. 113-123). Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.

Saundra Wetig, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Dr. Wetig is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department.